Mylanta is used by us humans for things like heartburn, acid indigestion, sour stomach, or gas, but the things that cause this for people are different than what causes it in our feline friends, so it’s not an apples to apples comparison.
So the slogan is My doctor said Mylanta, but the chances are your vet wouldn’t say that for your cat. If they do, they will also be able to give you the correct dosage for your cat’s breed, size, and medical history. Most likely though, they will recommend an alternative, or recommend that you don’t do anything special at all. They might also have you bring them in for a check up so they can verify that it’s not a symptom of a larger problem.
During this check up they might also make dietary changes to see if this improves your cat’s digestive ability, and they will also have you track what you give them so they can get a better idea of what your cat is eating or ingesting that’s causing problems. It’s good for you to involve your vet when something like this comes up, especially if your cat is showing signs they normally don’t show.
Can I Give My Cat Mylanta? Answer: Not Recommended
You’ve got to be species specific when it comes to what you give your cat medicinally. The dosages and makeup of human medication is designed for and tested for people, and the manufacturers of Mylanta did not have cats in mind when they made it. As convenient as it might be to dip into your supply and let them have a dose, or even a smaller dose, it’s still not recommended.
Determining There’s Trouble
This is where all of that close observation of your cat on a daily basis comes in. You’ll be able to spot subtle changes in their behavior, and if you know what signs to look for, you won’t end up misdiagnosing a problem, and you’ll know when to call a vet and when to deal with things on your own.
When a cat has heartburn, it might not show any signals until it spits up some food or whatever else is in its stomach. If it has a sour stomach or gas it might not show any signs, and you might not be able to smell is because most gas doesn’t have a smell, or a strong smell. You can put your ear next to their stomach and listen for any rumbling, just don’t mistake purring for an overactive digestive system.
Cats and Stomach Trouble
As long as you have an indoor cat that gets the same food every day on the same schedule you shouldn’t run into stomach problems very often. It’s mostly indoor/outdoor cats that run into their fair share of things they can’t quite digest. Most owners feel that they need to intervene in order to help their cat from suffering. However, cats are an amazingly resilient animal, and can usually recover from most mild annoyances as an upset stomach.
They don’t think of suffering the same way we do. They take it in stride and don’t self-medicate for every little problem. It’s a lesson we can learn from them instead of trying to force our lifestyle onto theirs.
Any All Natural Alternatives?
What can you give your cat that isn’t an over the counter medication designed for humans? The answer is that there’s not much you can give them other than time to sort it out on their own. If this is happening on a frequent or daily basis, you should take them to the vet where they will give you medication specifically created for cats.
Figuring Out the Cause
You’ll want to retrace the steps to find out what went wrong and why you’re cat is experiencing problems. If the answer is not immediately clear, try to think back over the last few hours to see if they might have snuck outside, or snuck into somewhere in the home they don’t usually go. See if there’s any food or other edibles that are missing. You have to play detective for a bit to try to determine the cause so you can prevent it from happening again in the future.
My vet gave me Mylanta to give to my cat. The cat hates it, gags on it, barfs it up, and drools afterwards. He’s also listless after. I’ll give him no more.